The present disclosure and embodiments thereof are in the field of environmental climate control. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a method and device for controlling air-source heat pumps (ASHP) to heat residential or commercial premises in cold climate.
Air-source heat pumps have been widely used to heat residential or commercial premises for years. Air-source heat pumps are typically considered economic and environment friendly, because by operation of the air-source heat pumps, heat is extracted from ambient air rather than from burning fossil fuel. As a result, the application of air-source heat pumps for heating residential or commercial premises has become popular and, in some circumstances, mandatory.
However, conventional air-source heat pumps experience poor performance in cold climate. Particularly, as the ambient temperature (or outdoor temperature) of the premises decreases in cold climate regions, the heating capacity and the efficiency of the conventional air-source heat pumps decrease significantly. At the same time, due to the low ambient temperature, the heating demand for the premises increases significantly. When the ambient temperature is below certain critical values (for example, <0° F.), the compressors of most air-source heat pumps fail to work properly. Consequently, supplemental heat sources (typically, electric resistance) are needed, which decreases the heating seasonal performance factor (HSPF) of the air-source heat pumps.
Accordingly, there exists a need in the art to at least overcome the deficiencies and limitations described hereinabove with respect to the conventional air-source heat pumps.